As a residential real estate agent, rather naturally I am a huge advocate of investing in residential real estate as a means of creating short term cash flow, and achieving long term investment goals. However; the road to riches as a landlord comes with great responsibility and numerous elements of risk, especially if the landlord and/or tenants aren’t familiar with their rights and obligations and a conflict occurs.
A great jumping off point for anyone considering becoming a landlord here in Ontario is to have a look at the resources provided by the Landlord and Tenant Board supported by the Government of Ontario. The Landlord and Tenant Board endeavors to “Inform landlords and tenants about their rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act and provide balanced and timely dispute resolution in accordance with the law.”
I find that most aspiring Landlords are not familiar with the responsibilities and obligations they will have if they enter the “business”, and the bulk of them will change their mind when they realize renting a property is not just a case of getting a set of keys cut, placing a Kijiji ad, and collecting cheques from the first party that expresses an interest.
For those of you who have read over the information on the rights and responsibilities of being a landlord, thought things through, and are still comfortable with the investment, I would strongly suggest that you talk to the following individuals:
a) A real estate agent who is familiar with the process of investment purchases – he/she can point you to areas of town that will suit budget, tell you what type of tenants you might attract in certain pockets of town, etc.
b) A mortgage agent who can discuss the unique circumstances of your investment needs with respect to a mortgage and then secure a great product/rate that will maximize your income
c) A real estate lawyer who can assist you in closing the transaction, structuring lease agreements, etc. If you are going to acquire more properties you might even discuss incorporating, a holdings company, etc.
d) Your local municipality to make sure you are not violating any zoning or property use bylaws by renting the property.
Rental properties are a very rewarding source of income when structured properly and treated as a business, each one of us contributing to this blog have our own areas of expertise and welcome any questions that you may have about the process of acquiring investment real estate.
